At last, it’s been released! A world where magic and technology are commonplace, witches utilize it in their everyday lives. Sometimes, that includes murders and the detectives to solve them.
Chapter One of Waurelt's Mystery Club is available for free to read here on AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22195540
Alrightyo here’s that fic thing where Osborne reveals their identity to Luke in the role swap AU i mentioned a while ago. KEEP In mind this isn’t like my full on writing power i just wrote this in the middle of the night a few days back so pbtht it hasn’t been edited much.
“Trust” (TotA Role Swap AU)
[It’s super Gen?? no real warnings needed. Nephry, Luke, and Asch all appear. if there are any mistakes, let me know! have fun, kiddos. i tried.]
Colonel Luke fon Fabre was staring into the Keterburg night sky from the balcony when a young masked mercenary, Osborne, entered the hotel room.
Colonel Luke fon Fabre was staring into the Keterburg night sky from the balcony when a young masked mercenary, Osborne, entered the hotel room. Everyone else was either in bed or out at the casino, and that left Luke, fortunately for Osborne, alone in his room for the while. They had considered knocking, but decided against it. They did, however, knock on the door to the balcony.
“Yes?” Luke asked as he turned around. His hair was down, Osborne noted, and he was out of uniform. The professor’s hair was never this casual in appearance when around the others. His eyes widened a little, mouth agape, when he noticed who it was knocking, but his face quickly relaxed into his normal smiling expression. It was one not only Osborne but also the rest of their party knew well. Luke opened the door and gestured for Osborne to join him.
Osborne did just that. “I apologize for disturbing you, Colonel.” Luke shook his head with that same gentle smile and went back to his place before the balcony’s railing. Osborne took their place beside him. They did not look at each other.
“You didn’t, really,” he chuckled softly. “And please, I’ve told you to call me Luke dozens of times. You sound like Jade. All you have to do is replace ‘colonel’ with ‘professor’!” He laughed again. Osborne finally stole a glance at the other, catching sight of the golden ring hanging by a chain around his neck.
Osborne sighed. “As much as I dislike admitting it, you’re right.”
“Speaking of sounding like Jade, that’s why you’re here, isn’t it?” Luke finally looked at them. Osborne froze.
“Yes,” they admitted. “You know, then.”
“I’ve known for a while. I may seem like an airhead, but trust me, I’m more observant than most of you realize.” Luke pointed to their mask, black with a white sigil and covering everything but the underside of their nose down. Osborne hesitantly moved a hand towards it, but Luke quickly grabbed their wrist. His look grew concerned. “You don't have to."
Osborne bit their lip, slipped their hand out of Luke's grip and reached it up to touch the mask lightly with the tips of their fingers. Luke watched carefully, not saying a word. They moved their other hand to behind either ear, one at a time, a click with each. The mask fell into the hand touching it before. Osborne kept their eyes closed, not meeting Luke’s own, until a moment later. Deep brown eyes stared into his, their face set with a firm gaze. Luke released a breath he didn’t know he was holding.
“I just told you that you didn’t have to, you know,” he says.
Osborne smiled and rolled their eyes. They reached into their coat pocket and pulled out a pair of glasses. The glasses were gold, much like their hair, and they suited their face rather well, Luke thought. “I did it of my own free will. I was determined to do it tonight, anyway. It gets stuffy under there.”
Luke snorted at that. “This makes a lot of sense, now. You being the original, and all,” he adds. “You’re the original Jade.”
Osborn frowned. “Please don’t call me that. That name is dead to me for more than the obvious reason.”
It took Luke a real moment of examining their face before gasping quietly. “I see.” He nudges them lightly with an elbow. “My bad. I’m sorry.”
Osborne shook their head. “Don’t be. You weren’t aware. I made sure none of you were aware on purpose, but to confirm it, yes, I am a woman. Don’t let that change anything.”
“It won’t, I promise,” he replied. She smiled. “Then, if it’s alright to ask, what’s your name?”
“Nephry,” she said. “My name is Nephry.”
Luke hummed and stuck out his left hand. “Nice to meet you, Nephry. The name’s Luke.”
Nephry chuckled and shook his hand with her own. “It’s nice to meet you as well.”
The two retracted their hands and went back to gazing out at the snow-covered city. The sky was dark and dotted with stars, but the lights of the city drowned out most of them. It was quiet save for the bustling below. Drunkards stumbling home from the casino roamed the streets, and the two could even spot a few of their companions hanging around the town square. To them both, the sight of it was was beautiful.
“Are you going to tell them?” Luke asked, eyes set still on the sight.
“You aren’t?” She turned to look at him, puzzled. Luke didn’t move.
“This kinda thing isn’t my secret to tell. All of that is up to you. That is, unless, me saying something will make all of this easier for you, but I can say for certain that it won’t.”
“Why is that, sir?” She continued to stare intently at him. Luke finally turned to face her, and his expression, smile replaced with a soft frown and furrowed brows.
“Friends don’t like to hear secrets like this come from anyone but the person whose secret it is unless it’s honestly an emergency. If it came outta my mouth instead of yours, I’m sure almost everyone would be upset.” He placed a hand on her shoulder, grip not too tight but still firm. “There’s absolutely no pressure from me to tell them right away. Again, it’s your secret to keep. You do it when you’re ready, but don’t wait so long that it comes out of someone else’s mouth. That’s a spell for disaster via miscommunication.”
“What if, even if I do tell them, they're still upset with me?” She turned her gaze away, downcast. Luke’s grip tightened ever so slightly, and her attention snapped back.
“That’s the thing about friends, Nephry. Friends don't get upset with you over something like this. Yeah, there’ll probably be some… working things out to do, but we’ve all come to trust you. Other than Jade, I don’t think you need to worry so much.” He sighed. “That’s something I’ve learned from all of you.”
At this, Nephry smiled again, a little more bittersweet, but it was a smile, and Luke counted that as a victory. He let go of her shoulder and folded his arms on the rail of the balcony.
“I don’t think I’ll tell them just yet, but I will soon,” she said. “I have some things I need to take care of involving the God-Generals, first.”
Luke snaps his finger. “That’s where I’ve heard your name before! Nephry the Solemn. That also explains a lot, especially how you know so much about the other God-Generals.” He nodded to himself. “That explains why you use an alias, too.”
Nephry nodded and spoke stiffly, startled by his actions. “...Yes, sir. That’s correct.”
“It’s safe for me to assume that you’re no longer working for them, then?”
“Yes.”
“Good!” Luke grinned.
“Don’t you think it’s a bad idea to be so trusting of me, sir-”
Just as Luke opened his mouth to reply, a loud, familiar voice shouted from below. Luke leaned forward and huffed with disdain. From their view of the entrance of the hotel, they could see Asch groaning as he and Peony carried what they assumed to be a drunken Dist back into the hotel. The others, having regrouped, snickered and mingled as they followed suit.
Two clicks sounded, and by the time Luke looked back, Osborne’s mask was back into place. Luke smiled sadly. He watched as they approached the balcony door. Before they left, however, they turned back to him with that usual poker-face.
“My apologies, but I must return to my room.” Osborne moved closer to the opening in the doorway.
“Don’t worry about it. It’s probably good that you do. I don’t want you to face Asch’s wrath,” he laughed. “Nephry, this talk is between you and me. I won’t mention a word of this to anyone. Not until you’re ready.”
Osborne smiled and slid through the doorway. Luke followed suit, not passing through just yet, however. He continued to watch as Osborne approached the main door. Before they opened it, however, the door swung open roughly with a more-than-just irritated Asch on the other side. He was in the middle of yelling something when he caught sight of Osborne, and after it registered, his words slowed to a stop. He glanced from Luke to the mercenary, back and forth a few times, until his sight settled on Osborne.
Osborne quickly bid them both goodnight and rushed out of the room. Asch continued to watch until they were safely inside their own room just down the hall. Then, he looked back to his brother.
“What the hell was that about?” he inquired, tone softer now. Asch shut the door behind him and approached Luke, who finally shut the door to the balcony behind him. Luke, with an exasperated sigh flopped face-first onto one of the two queen-sized beds. Asch sat down beside him.
“It’s complicated, and I can’t tell you about it,” he admitted. “I really, really want to, but I can’t. Thems the rules of keeping trust.”
Asch kicked one of Luke’s legs. “You still hold onto that lesson, huh?”
“Yeah,” said Luke. “‘It’s hard to regain trust once you’ve lost it,’ she said. Man, was she right. Then again, she was right about a lotta things. Gotta make sure I don’t mess it up again.”
“None of us talked to you for a month,” Asch responded.
“It holds the record of one of the worst months of my life.”
“Good. That was the point, moron.” Luke rolled over and looked to his brother with a smile. Asch responded with a frown. “What the hell’s that look for?”
“I’m just happy, is all.”
Asch kicked his leg again, harder. “Gross. Old men shouldn’t be so sentimental.”
“Old, you say!” Luke quickly grabbed a pillow from the head of the bead and whacked Asch with as much strength as he had (it wasn’t much considering their exhaustion from today’s travel). Asch tried to block it but fell off the bed with a loud thud as a result. As Asch groaned, Luke laughed. “We’re the same age, first of all. Second, it isn’t gross. There’s nothing wrong with appreciating what you have!” Luke threw the pillow, and it landed on Asch’s face.
Asch, muffled, groaned again. “Yeah, yeah.” He moved the pillow to glare at his brother. “Go to bed. We have a long day tomorrow.”
The words were wasted, Asch realized, when Luke’s soft snore resounded in the hotel room. Asch sighed and tucked him into bed. As he was leaving the room, afterwards, to check on the others still in the lobby, he gave one last glance to Luke before shutting the door.
Down the hall, he almost knocked on their other hotel room to ask after Osborne. Achingly familiar voices, that of his brother’s and another’s, played in his mind.
“It’s hard to regain trust once you’ve lost it,” they said.
Asch continued down the hall and entered the elevator.
